Featherweight

Featherweight

Try as they might, challengers keep coming up short in their quest
to dethrone the Brazilian prince of the featherweight division.
Aldo’s active and precise striking faded in the championship rounds
of his latest title defense at UFC 156, but by the time Frankie
Edgar really got going, the champion had already racked up enough
points to earn a unanimous nod. Aldo was set to meet former WEC
lightweight champ Anthony Pettis at UFC 163, but with Pettis
sidelined due to a knee injury, the Nova Uniao product will instead
defend his belt against “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.

Mendes scored his third consecutive first-round knockout at UFC on
Fox 7, ending the five-fight winning streak of fellow wrestler
Darren Elkins in the process. Buoyed by the addition of head coach
Duane “Bang” Ludwig at Team Alpha Male, Mendes appears to be on
track to eventually securing a rematch with Jose Aldo, the man to
whom he lost at UFC 142. However, he will first have to make it
through former lightweight contender Clay Guida at UFC 164 in
August.

Curran solidified himself as one of Bellator’s stalwarts during the
promotion’s Season 8 transition to Spike TV with a pair of
145-pound title defenses. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native took a
solid five-round verdict over Patricio Freire on Jan. 17 before
choking out Shahbulat Shamhalaev at Bellator 95. “Paddy Mike” will
likely make his next title defense against Season 6 tournament
winner Daniel Straus.

After impressive wins over Cub Swanson, Hatsu Hioki and Erik Koch,
Lamas was looking for a title shot against Jose Aldo, and
rightfully so. However, “The Bully” was instead paired with Chan
Sung Jung at UFC 162 on July 6, only to see their matchup nixed by
an injury to Anthony Pettis. Jung will now replace "Showtime" and
challenge Aldo for featherweight gold in August.

A drop to 145 pounds seemed to have no effect on the frenetic
“Carpenter,” who repeatedly grounded and occasionally pounded Hatsu
Hioki in a controversial, three-round split decision on Jan. 26 in
Chicago. Guida was set to build on that performance against fellow
wrestler Chad Mendes at UFC on Fox 7 on April 20 before an injury
put him on the shelf. The two featherweights will instead collide
at UFC 164 in August.

Hioki’s active guard work was not enough to sway the judges in a
three-round split decision loss to Clay Guida on Jan. 26. After
debuting in the UFC with back-to-back wins, the “Son of Shooto” has
fallen from the rank of top contender with consecutive decision
defeats to Guida and Ricardo Lamas. Hioki will try to halt his skid
on Aug. 28, when he meets Darren Elkins at UFC on Fox Sports 1.

In his second 145-pound outing, Siver was simply overwhelming, as
the German-based Russian pulverized Nam Phan at UFC on Fox 5. Siver
was expected to meet Cub Swanson in February but withdrew for
unknown reasons; the bout has been rebooked for UFC 162 on July
6.

At UFC on FX 8, the Minnesotan utilized clinches, takedowns and
ground-and-pound to outpoint Hacran Dias in front of a hostile
Brazilian audience. Now 3-0 at featherweight, the competition only
figures to get tougher for Lentz as he attempts to ascend the
divisional ladder.

Jung has been out of action since his May 2012 submission win over
Dustin Poirier, but “The Korean Zombie” will not get a tune-up
fight when he returns in July. Originally slated to meet Ricardo
Lamas at UFC 162, Jung will instead replace the injured Anthony
Pettis and take on featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main
event of UFC 163.

Wins over George Roop, Ross Pearson, Charles Oliveira and Dustin
Poirier have Swanson on the precipice of featherweight title
contention. The Jackson’s MMA product has been paired with Dennis
Siver for a bout at UFC 162 on July 6.